Alex Lange is capable of throwing strikes.

Walking too many batters was a problem for him in the minor leagues, but through the first two seasons of his three-year MLB career, he cut down on his walk rate while maintaining his elite strikeout rate.

His past performance — everything from his nasty repertoire to his fearless mindset — led to the Detroit Tigers using him as their unofficial closer for almost the entire 2023 season. But the strikes stopped coming for Lange.

"It's a battle between you and yourself," Lange said. "I'm just going to go out there and fill up the zone and trust my stuff. I'm excited for what's to come. I can reflect back and look at the tribulations and the bad as learning experiences."

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There were so many lessons learned.

As for the positive, Lange learned his body could handle back-to-back seasons without a stint on the injured list. He felt like he could have kept pitching into October after this year's regular season, even after throwing 71 games in the 2022 season.

He has been known for his diligent approach to taking care of his body, but another healthy season suggests he has perfected his offseason routine in preparation for a heavy workload.

"That's kind of what we pride ourselves on, staying healthy," Lange said. "As far as performance-wise, I think I learned a lot."

Lange posted a 3.68 ERA with 45 walks (15.6% walk rate) and 79 strikeouts (27.4% strikeout rate) over 66 innings (in 67 appearances) in his first season as the Tigers' closer (which was also his second season as a high-leverage reliever and his third season in the big leagues). He had 26 saves in 32 opportunities.

Of the 83 relievers who pitched at least 60 innings in the 2023 season, Lange ranked last in walks per nine innings (6.1) and walk rate (15.6%). His 81.3% save percentage ranked near the bottom of the American League.

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Don't forget, Lange had a 1.11 ERA with three wins and 10 saves in 11 chances in his first 25 appearances. He won American League Reliever of the Month for his performance in May. His walk rate at that point, though, looked a lot like his season-long walk rate: 11.6%.

Maybe Lange was always destined to regress.

Everything fell apart June 4 in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. He walked back-to-back batters — both refusing to swing at curveballs below the strike zone — before Jake Burger hammered a curveball in the bottom-third of the zone for a walk-off grand slam.

He learned a valuable lesson over the next three months.

"It's just being able to see what the hitter is trying to do and react to that," Lange said. "Sticking to who you are, like with being able to adjust in-game and in the moment during game action instead of it being after the outing, after the second outing, after the third outing. It's being able to recognize what's happening in front of you and being able to adjust right away. I think that's another thing I have to continue to be better at and continue to work on."

Lange, less than 30 minutes after Burger's grand slam, stood in front of his locker and addressed his mistakes. He talked about the White Sox staying patient in their approach and refusing to chase pitches outside of the strike zone.

The rest of the league caught on quickly.

From June 4-Aug. 31, Lange logged a 6.35 ERA with 30 walks (21.6% walk rate) and 31 strikeouts (22.3% strikeout rate) over 28⅓ innings in 30 games.

"I need to be more consistent, I think," Lange said. "I need to go out there and attack the strike zone a little bit better and get strike one better. It's hard giving games away when the boys have been grinding for nine (innings)."

He threw more curveballs (72.2%) in June than any other month in his career, as well as a season-high 38.5% sinkers and a season-low 6.8% changeups. He also never threw his four-seam fastball.

In September, Lange threw 58.5% curveballs, 15.6% changeups, 14.1% sinkers and 11.7% four-seam fastballs. Compared to June, he threw fewer curveballs, fewer sinkers, more changeups and more fastballs.

"There's certainly a mental component to it because he carries the burden of the last three outs most of the times that he pitches," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said in early August, when he removed Lange from the ninth-inning role for about a week. "Preparation, never a problem. Care factor, never a problem. Accountability, never a problem. You carry all that with you, and it's not easy to struggle.

"I think the mechanics lead to ball one, ball two, ball three, ball four, then you're taxed mentally to have to overcome it. It's a tough life as a reliever sometimes, especially as a leverage reliever, even more so when you can't find the strike zone."

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Here's the important data point: Lange had a season-best 44.4% in-zone rate in September, meaning he finally found the strike zone. As a result, he finished his season with a 2.70 ERA, four walks (7.4% walk rate) and 14 strikeouts (25.9% strikeout rate) over 13⅓ innings in 13 games.

The offseason is the optimal time for further, and possibly permanent, adjustments. For Lange, that means time for reflection and reassessment. He started his offseason program in early October, not long after the regular-season finale.

It sounds like he wants to fix his delivery.

"A lot of time to actually break the body down and attack certain aspects that need to be better," Lange said. "There's no time to really sit and relax. It's time to go attack, get better and get ready for next year. I think we're going to be pretty dangerous next year."

Lange likes the trajectory of the Tigers. He sees the development of Jason Foley and Tyler Holton in the bullpen. He recognizes a steady middle-of-the-order trio — Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter — has emerged. He also watched the establishment of a never-give-up culture from the entire team.

But Lange knows he needs to pitch better.

The Tigers won't go far without an established path to winning games in the late innings, a path that often ended with Lange — for better or for worse — in the 2023 season.

"I need to take another step," Lange said. "Continue to work, continue to get better, continue to attack, and do what I do best. I'm happy with the work that I put in this year, but I definitely think there's a lot of room for improvement. I just need to take the next step to get better."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Alex Lange determined to 'get better'